On the plains covered by wind and snow, metal and masonry rise from the ground, stacked on top of each other, and change into iron and boron benches, forming a small platform with an ordinary style.

The Elephant Castle emerges in Kamyi, the land of Ainu mythology.

"You can really summon it."

Kamiyagawa accepted the key to the Rutsuki train, looked at the platform that appeared next to the Kamitsuki, and nodded with satisfaction.

It's like a moon station, and it will be very convenient to let go of your subordinates and foreign aid to enter this map.

"Aba, Aba."

The little old man, who had taken a turn around the neighborhood, returned to his master's side.

"Did you find anything?" Kamiya asked him.

"Aba!"

The scout seemed to sense that there was an area in the distance worth exploring, but he wasn't sure what kind of place it was.

"Okay, let's take a look."

Kamiya nodded and instructed the little old man to clear the way.

……

The master and servant walked on the white snowfield for a while.

"It's so cold, here."

Kamiya wrapped the array of feathers on his body.

The temperature in the Kamui wilderness was cold, and the cold wind was cold, mixed with snow flakes brushing his cheeks.

Kamiya looked up, his pupils slightly condensed.

The place was so dark that there was barely any light to be seen.

Even though you can see clearly in the dark with the vision bonus provided by the [Autumn Slash] skill, it is impossible to distinguish the direction without a little old man leading the way in a snowstorm.

"It's kind of weird."

Kamiya withdrew his gaze from the sky and called out the dog god.

Inujiro's tall body slowly stood up from Kamiyagawa's side, and the karmic fire on his body rose, and the sparks burned to dispel the cold.

After getting used to the meticulous, extremely gentle and comfortable heating of the day and square at home, it is inevitable that it will feel a little rough when compared with the dog.

However, in this environment, it is good to have a heating source.

Kamiya raised his hand and patted the dog's hard head.

The three masters and servants continued to walk forward.

"Aba!"

At this time, the little old man in front of him trotted all the way back, noisily shouting, and he seemed to have discovered something.

Not far ahead, there was a dead tree, swarthy, with its withered branches branching and pointing upwards in a messy manner.

Under the reminder of the little old man, through the extraordinary vision provided by the [Autumn Slash] technique, Kamiya saw a bird falling on the branch of a dead tree in the distance.

He was covered in snowflakes, but he could see shiny black feathers under the snow.

"What's that, Raven? It's a big one. ”

The birds, which looked like crows, looked almost the size of an eagle.

Standing quietly on top of the dead tree, his two eyes emitting a golden light, he stared at Kamiya from afar, motionless.

"Whew-"

On the edge of Kamiya, the dog god stood in front of his master, his knotted muscles stirred, his nose spewed out a rotten breath, his long teeth bared in protest, and a pair of red eyes glared back at the big bird unceremoniously.

This is the first "living thing" seen after entering Kamyi.

But the little old man did not immediately run away, indicating that the big crow did not show hostility and aggression for the time being.

Kamiyagawa patted Inugami's head again to signal it to be calm, and at the same time asked the little old man to retreat behind him, holding the handle of the knife with a text on his waist with his left hand, and beckoned Inugami to walk towards the dead tree where the crows roost.

Buzz –

I didn't take two steps before my phone vibrate.

[The Atlas has been updated.] ]

[Strange Talk Name: Utengu Kamui]

[Classification: Grade C]

[Status: Strange Tales World]

[Visit Progress: 50%]

The black tengu is also called the crow tengu.

A type of tengu named for its pointed beak and pitch-black wings like a crow.

Also known as the "little tengu", the black tengu can fly, and in the usual weird stories, he wears the same mountain costume as the big tengu. Moreover, the black tengu seems to be a strange story of good use of weapons, and in the legend of Gen Yoshitsune, there is a bridge in which the black tengu of Kurama Mountain teaches Gen Yoshitsune swordsmanship.

"That's a tengu?"

In addition, the name has the word "Kamui", indicating that the Utengu is a god-like being in Ainu legend.

However, if there is only a C level, it should be a low-level "god".

The Ainu believe in "animism", and it is normal for ordinary spirits to be considered "Kamuyi".

"In Ainu mythology, are there tengu too? No, it shouldn't be in mythology, it should be born from folklore stories. ”

Kamiyagawa recalls the materials he had collected last night.

He remembers that the Ainu people, in the area north of Hokkaido, had a folk legend of a kappa.

The kappa in Hokkaido is called "Hatsushichi", and the Ainu language also calls it "Hashichi Kamui".

It resembles that of kappa throughout Honshu, with purple or red skin, feet shaped like birds or sickles, and bald, but no water on the top of their heads.

The difference between the Seven Kappa and the Kappa in Honshu is that the Kappa in the story of Honshu can confuse and play tricks on people, but the Seven Days of the First Month will protect people and can be regarded as a kind of god in the water.

"The Ainu people in Hokkaido have been influenced by Japanese culture for a long time, and there are some similar strange tales in the folk tales, which seems to be quite normal, and kappa have them, and it should not be strange to have black tengu."

Thinking so, Kamiyagawa continued to walk towards the Utengu in the distance.

But not yet, to get closer.

"Wow-"

The tengu in the form of a crow cried, flapping its wings and rising from the dead trees, shaking off the snow from its body.

Because the snow chips were shaken off, Kamiya only noticed at this time that the black tengu was not pure black.

Its facial feathers seem to be white in the first place.

There is a clear difference between black and white tones on the body, like a big crow covering a white mask on the face.

The black tengu landed far on the ground, and then continued to keep an eye on Kamiyagawa.

Then try to get closer.

The black tengu was still the same, and before it made official contact, it flapped its wings and flew up, landing far away, always keeping a certain distance from Kamiya.

"It doesn't seem to want to communicate with me."

There was no way, Kamiya temporarily gave up communicating with the Utengu.

Moreover, they did not call out the Shikigami to take the initiative to attack each other.

When he was active in the world, he always maintained the code of conduct of "people don't offend me, I don't offend people".

The Utengu has not yet shown any hostility, so there is no need to attack it.

Since it tends to observe from afar and look at itself, let it look at it first.

"If you're friendly, then so am I."

Kamiya said this to the Utengu, beckoned to his men, and continued on his way.

And along the way, the big crow with black feathers and white face always kept a certain distance from him and followed him from a distance.

……

And they marched for another half hour or so in the wilderness.

Kamiyagawa saw a complex of buildings from a distance, and there seemed to be a settlement in front of it.

The little old man noticed it at first, and wanted to bring his master to this place.

"There are actually settlements, so this map is a bit similar to Fu Fuxiang?"

Kamiyagawa continued to walk forward.

At this time, the black tengu, who was far behind, flapped his wings violently, and flew into the gathering area in front of him in the face of the mixed wind and snow.

"Is that tengu somehow connected to the settlement here?"

Kamiya guessed.

He came to Kamui to look for "Shenwei", and since there is a settlement in front of him, he may be able to get some clues related to "Shenwei".

Outside the settlement.

Kamiya saw some strange sculptures here.

Stone humanoids, very short, each sculpture is almost half a meter tall.

But looking at the form, there are old and young, not a childlike statue.

Kamiyagawa stopped in front of the nearest statue and raised his hand to brush away the snow that had accumulated on it.

The stone statue in front of him was the shape of Lao Suo, and his movements seemed to be walking.

The details of the carving are so vivid and lifelike that you can even see the wrinkles and fine lines on Lao Suo's face.

In addition, the ears of this old man are long and large.

Ringing ears, or rather elven ears.

Other humanoid sculptures have the same ear feature.

"Dwarves? Wrong...... Are these the Kropokuru villains? ”

Kamiyagawa has done his homework seriously after all.

In Ainu legends, there is a kind of elf youkai called Kropokuru.

"Kropokuru" means "one who lives under the weeds" in the Ainu language.

It's said to be a monster, but it's actually more like a little human race, honest by nature, and won't play pranks, nor will it harm people.

It is said that Kropokuru lived in groups in the Ainu region, and it is said that tattoos were taught to the Ainu by these villains. In the real Hokkaido wilderness, there is a plant called the ghost root, and the leaves are so large that they can almost be used as an umbrella. Kropokuru likes to live underneath this plant, and a ghost plant can hold several small people.

This is also where their name comes from.

In conclusion, Kropokuru is a being similar to the Western goblins, and legend has it that it is also believed that the Ainu were the true natives of the Hokkaido region before they moved to Hokkaido.

"These things don't look as simple as stone carvings."

Kamiyagawa withdrew his gaze from the few sculptures around him and walked towards the settlement.

The small settlements were small and dense, mostly deserted and collapsed, and the few intact houses appeared to have been made of clay piles, the highest being just over two meters high.

"The little people who once lived here can't be your distant relatives, right?"

Kamiyagawa asked the little old man.

The three of them went deep into the settlement, only to see more dwarf stone carvings, most of which were covered in snow, becoming small snow bags.

"Wow-wow-"

While the master and servant of Kamiya were exploring the settlement, the black tengu from before reappeared.

This time, it was entrenched above the heads of Kamiya and the others, and went back and forth.

"Are you trying to take me somewhere?"

Kamiya observed the movement trajectory of the black tengu for a while, and looked up and asked.

"Wow——!"

The Utengu swirling in the sky fluttered its wings and flew forward.

……

Somewhere in a Lilliputian settlement.

It was dark, cold, windy and snowy.

There are also small snow packs standing on the snow here.

"Wow-"

The black tengu landed on one of the snow bags, constantly shaking its wings.

The snow was swept away a bit, revealing the stone statue of the villain below.

This time, the statue is an old woman with coiled hair, but her face is covered with a primitive-looking shaman mask, mysterious and hideous.

On the quaint mask, there are six eyes.

Kamiyagawa stepped forward with the hilt of his sword, and the black tengu, who was resting on top of the stone carving, twisted his head, his golden pupils always watching him.

"Is there anything special about this statue compared to the others?"

Kamiya looked up and down at the old woman's stone carving.

Then, at a certain moment, he suddenly felt a faint breath coming from the stone carving.

He heard an old female voice coming from among the stone carvings: "Yausikp." ”

The voice was a little muffled, and it was supposed to be Ainu, so I didn't understand it.

"This thing is alive, at least it used to be."

Kamiya thought so.

But there were no big surprises.

When you enter the villain settlement, you can see that there are a large number of villain stone sculptures in the village, either buried by the snow, or half naked in the wind and snow.

The bare stone figures walked, stood or sitting, and all maintained a peaceful posture of daily routine.

Such a scene makes people wonder if it could be that the Kropokuru who once lived in this settlement suffered some unknown change and were all petrified in an instant, so they left this scene in front of them.

After the sentence was finished, the stone statue of the old woman made another sound.

This time, though, it wasn't in Ainu.

Although the intonation and accent were a little strange, Kamiya could barely understand it.

She said, "The sun ...... Without...... We...... The sun is needed. ”

"Wow wow!"

After the old woman said this, the black dog above her head howled fiercely, flapped its wings, soared into the air, and disappeared into the wind and snow.

Only a group of visitors from other places were left in place.

Kamiya raised his eyes to see if there was anything else to say about the shaman-like stone carving.

But at this moment, there seemed to be a faint atmosphere of strange talk in the entire settlement.

Sounds come from the snow-covered or half-covered stone carvings, layered on top of each other.

The voice was swallowed by the cold howling wind and snow, and whimpered.

The stone people spoke as if they were still Ainu, and Kamiya couldn't understand them at first, but at this moment, it seemed that he could understand the strong emotions contained in the words.

The Kropokuru are saying, "Help...... We ......"

Kamiyagawa pressed the knife and looked around, and a word hummed.

But the noise just now only stopped for a moment.

The Cropokuru statues fell completely silent, standing still in the snow.

This is also normal, the stone is not able to speak.

In the dim sky above Kamuyi, the wind and snow covered the sky and the sun, and the cold wind howled, and it was dark.

……

Kamiyagawa took Inugami and the little old man to take the time to explore the entire gathering place, and found nothing else.

The statues never spoke again.

You can only temporarily exit the map and return to reality.

However, before leaving, he moved the Ruyue Station, which had been standing on the Snow Plains Shrine, to the outside of the Klopokul gathering point.

This way, the next time you enter [Lost Kamui], you can take the train directly, saving you the trouble of the journey.

The living room in the home.

Kamiyagawa sipped the milk coffee brewed by Pranya while reviewing the harvest of his first exploration of Kamui.

"A village of Krobokulu has been petrified and turned into a statue, for reasons unknown."

"The shaman's stone carvings at the beginning of the 'Yausikpu' seem to be a spider-shaped god in Ainu mythology. There are names and surnames, and they are also recorded in the mythological system, so they may be regarded as divine power. ”

"If we can get in touch with Yausikp, maybe the mission will be completed."

"The shaman said they needed the sun...... Lost in the land of Kamui, there seems to be no sun? But since the shaman said that, it means that Kamui originally had a sun, right? The petrification of the Krobokul may have something to do with the absence of the sun. ”

But...... If that's the case, where is the original sun of Kamui?

(End of chapter)